


we’re in a weird time of life

by shuri_is_my_queen



Series: Alex and Carrie are besties and you can’t change my mind. [3]
Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV 2020)
Genre: Alex Mercer & Carrie Wilson Friendship, Alex Mercer Has Anxiety (Julie and the Phantoms), Coming Out, Everyone Is Alive, Fluff, Hair Dyeing, Nonbinary Carrie Wilson, Nonbinary Character, and carrie was right there, not my hc but i needed someone to project onto
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-22
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-12 20:34:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,842
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29640291
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shuri_is_my_queen/pseuds/shuri_is_my_queen
Summary: Carrie hops onto the counter after setting the timer. They are suddenly bashful. “Alex? Thanks for being so cool about this. I know it’s probably weird. You’re the first person I’ve told and… I don’t know… it just means a lot to me.”Alex sits on the counter next to them. “I’m glad that you trust me with something as important to you as this. And just for the record, it’s not weird. I promise.”
Relationships: Alex Mercer & Carrie Wilson
Series: Alex and Carrie are besties and you can’t change my mind. [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1987990
Comments: 2
Kudos: 30





	we’re in a weird time of life

**Author's Note:**

> like it says in the tags, this isn’t exactly my headcannon but i needed someone to project onto and carrie was right there. 
> 
> also i never write fluff so this was kinda out of my comfort zone. i hope it’s not bad lol
> 
> this isn’t a part of the “alex and carrie are besties and you can’t change my mind” universe. alex isn’t a ghost.

**8:10 pm**

**Care-Bear — > Disaster Gay:**

**Care-Bear:** get your ass over here. and bring coffee. large. you know my order. 

**Disaster Gay:** carrie???

**Disaster Gay:** are you okay? what is happening?

**Disaster Gay:** you know i have anxiety. context please. 

**Care-Bear:** i’m okay Lex. i promise. and it’s a surprise 

**Disaster Gay:** ugh. i’m on my way. be there in 20. 

**Care-Bear:** thank youuu i love you Lex

**Disaster Gay:** yep. just know i’m rolling my eyes at you so hard right now

* * *

Alex takes a few deep breaths.  _ Carrie is fine. This isn’t an emergency. She’s an impulsive person.  _

Sighing, Alex stands up from the couch in the studio where he’s been staying since his parents kicked him out. He grabs his car keys from the coffee table and makes his way to his car. 

It’s summer so Alex drives to Dunkin’ Donuts with the windows down and his music blaring. There’s not many people on the road so he doesn’t feel bad about it. 

Once he has two large iced coffees secure in his cup holders, he finally makes his way to Carrie’s.

* * *

**8:40 pm**

**Disaster Gay — > Care-Bear**

**Disaster Gay:** i’m here bitch. let me in before i drink your coffee. 

**Care-Bear:** you wouldn’t dare. 

**Disaster Gay:** do you really want to test that theory??

**Care-Bear:** ashkfdjsj

**Care-Bear:** fuck. i’m coming.

* * *

“Care to tell me what we’re doing now?” Alex asks with his eyebrows raised and still holding their coffees as Carrie leads him through her house, finally stopping in the large bathroom connected to her room. There’s a Walmart bag on the counter, but Alex can’t make out what’s in it. He puts Carrie’s coffee down. 

Carrie looks down, suddenly embarrassed. “Well you know how I dated Nick for a while last year?” Alex nods slowly, not quite sure where Carrie is going with this. She takes a deep breath, still avoiding eye contact. “The more that I think about it, the more I feel like… I don’t know… it was less that I was attracted to him and more that I wanted to look like him?” The last part comes out as a question. Carrie spares a glance at Alex who has a soft, understanding expression on his face. 

Carrie barrels on, “And there are people I see on TikTok who are more androgynous and I want to look like that so bad. While I’m okay with she/ her pronouns sometimes I guess, they/ them just seems to fit better? And the more that I think about it, being really feminine just feels.. wrong. I don’t know if that makes any sense. It’s probably dumb.” 

Alex puts his hand on their shoulder. “Hey, Care-Bear,” they look up at him, “it’s not dumb. I promise. Being a cis man, I’ll never fully understand, but I’m so glad that you felt safe enough to tell me. It was probably really hard and I’m so proud of you.” They have tears in their eyes now. Alex gives them a big smile and pulls them into a tight hug. “Now is there another name that you’d like me to use for you?” 

They smile into Alex’s shoulder before pulling away, “I’m fine with my name. But I like when you call me Care-Bear or other kinda gender neutral nicknames.” Their face falls a fraction, “If it’s too much trouble or whatever then it’s totally fine. I get it.” 

Their self conscious rant is cut off by Alex, tilting their head up to look at him, with a caring but firm look on his face. “Care-Bear, look at me. It’s not too much trouble. Don’t sacrifice your comfort for that of others.” 

Tears are running down their face now. “Lexxxx don’t make me cryyyy!” They moan playfully. “My eyeliner took a really long time today.” 

“Smudged and streaky eyeliner is a  _ look _ .” Alex defends proudly. They burst out in giggles. After a few minutes, Alex’s curiosity gets the best of him. “While I’m already having a blast, Care-Bear, I have to know. What’s in the bag?” 

They perk up with a crazy look in their eyes. “Oh! That’s part three of the plan for tonight!” 

Alex looks at his friend in mock fear. “I’m almost afraid to ask, but what are the other parts?” 

They giggle. “Well part one was telling you about… this,” they gesture vaguely at themself, “and part two is the part I’m most excited about. Wait here.” They skip out of the bathroom leaving Alex bewildered.  _ What could they possibly have planned? _

Carrie comes back a minute later with the look in their eyes impossibly more concerning. They pull a pair of scissors out from behind their back. “We, Alex Mercer, are chopping my hair off.” 

“Care, I mean this in the most loving and supportive way possible: What. The fuck. What about your dad? And besides, I have no idea how to cut hair, and I doubt you do as well.” Alex looks a little freaked out, but they just shrug his hesitation off. They had expected this. “Fuck what my dad thinks. I don’t care. And then there’s the situation of us not knowing how to cut hair to which I also say, fuck it. It’s just hair and if it goes terribly, I can always get it fixed at a hairdresser later.” They have clearly thought this through before. 

Alex sighs. “Ugh fine. How short are we going?” 

They pull up a picture on their Pinterest. “Like this.”

Alex takes the phone and studies the picture for a minute and looks up when he hears the sound of the scissors followed by Carrie cackling like a madman. They’ve just cut the hair in front of their face giving themself some very choppy bangs. 

“Oh! Okay so we’re just going for it. Cool, cool. Okay.” Alex seems very stressed. 

They cackle again. “Fuck yeah we are! God, that felt so freeing!” They take their phone away from Alex, open Spotify, and turn on 5 Seconds of Summer. They cut another chunk of hair off. “I’ll need your help when I get to the back, Lex.”

He sits on the counter. “I don’t know if I’ll be very good at this, Care-Bear...”

They make eye contact with the anxious boy in the mirror. “Lex, look me in the eye. Do I look like I give a fuck? No? Good. Because I don’t.” Their exhilarated smile fades into something more reassuring. “I promise, Lex. It’s fine.” 

Alex relaxes looking at the sight before him. They have already cut a lot of their hair off and they have black streaks down their face, but they look lighter and happier than they have in a long time. He smiles and takes the scissors that Carrie offered him.

* * *

Thirty minutes, two iced coffees, a near breakdown from Alex when he thought he messed up their hair, and a lot of hair later, their hair is finally at a length that they love. They stare at it in the mirror, running their hands through it over and over, a look of childish wonder on their face. Alex smiles at his friend. “Now Care, you mentioned that this is part two. What’s part three?” 

They look at Alex, “Part three is dying it pink! But first,” They hold up a finger and pause for dramatic effect, “more coffee!” They run out of their room and to the kitchen to make more coffee for the two of them. Alex shakes his head fondly, walking after them, “Wait for me you gremlin child.”

When the pair gets back to Carrie’s bathroom, they waste no time in tearing open the hair dye box. “And don’t worry, Alex! There’s step by step instructions for this part!” 

Alex breathes out a sigh of relief, “Oh thank god. I don’t think I could wing something like this.” They sit on the counter. “I don’t feel like doing this part myself and there’s only one pair of gloves so you get to do it. Have fun and make sure you get all of my hair.” 

Alex takes a deep breath and opens the instruction sheet. “Well this looks easy enough.” He gets the dye ready and starts putting the product on their hair. 

“Holy shit! That’s cold!” They arch their back and laugh. Alex laughs, too, “Well stop moving. I’m going to get it all over you if you don’t.” They stop squirming immediately and make faces at Alex in the mirror. He just laughs and shakes his head at the over caffeinated teen. 

When all of their hair is covered, they take the discarded Walmart bag off of the floor and put it in their hair to help it develop. 

“What now?” Alex asks. Carrie hops off the counter. “Well it has to develop for like 30 minutes and I’m hungry, so to the kitchen!”  Alex laughs and follows obediently. 

When he catches up to them, they have already preheated the oven and are pulling something out of the freezer. “Whatcha got there, Care-Bear?”

They turn around suddenly, “Dino nuggets!” The oven beeps. “And the oven is preheated! Hell yeah! How many do you want?”

“I don’t care.”

“Okay!” They dump a bunch on the pan without counting and put them in the oven. Carrie hops onto the counter after setting the timer. They are suddenly bashful. “Alex? Thanks for being so cool about this. I know it’s probably weird. You’re the first person I’ve told and… I don’t know… it just means a lot to me.”

Alex sits on the counter next to them. “I’m glad that you trust me with something as important to you as this. And just for the record, it’s not weird. I promise.”

“Lexxxx you’re going to make me cry for the second time tonight!” They lean onto Alex. “Thank you though.” 

“Of course, Care-Bear.”

* * *

“Nuggets have been acquired!” Carrie shouts as they march back up to their bathroom. 

“We still have 10 minutes left. Tiktok?” Carrie asks.

“Tiktok.” Alex nods. 

The timer goes off and Carrie jumps up. “I’m going to rinse my hair.”

Alex continues to scroll through his for you page for a while when he’s startled by the sudden sound of a hair dryer. “Can I come in now?” 

“No!” Carrie shrieks. “You have to wait until I’m ready for you to see it.” 

Alex rolls his eyes fondly, “Okay, okay.”

A few minutes later, he hears Carrie giggling faintly. “Close your eyes!” they call from the bathroom. 

He closes his eyes as he hears the bathroom door open. 

Carrie giggles, “Okay! Open them!”

“Oh my god, Care! It looks so good!”

They are basically bouncing around their room. “I love it so much! Thank you for doing this with me Lex!” 

“Of course, Care-Bear! Now stop bouncing and get over here. I want to watch a movie.”

They hop onto their bed and snuggle into Alex’s side. He ruffles their hair and holds them tight. Carrie smiles, feeling more like themself than they have in a long time. 

**Author's Note:**

> sorry if the end is rushed. this has been sitting in my docs for a long time now and i wanted to get it out. 
> 
> i hope you enjoyed! comment your thoughts! <3


End file.
